Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Letting someone help you is the nicest thing you can do for anyone.”

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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A crime novel that is funny and not only features a disabled character, but makes him the hero. Plot: Daniel feels incredibly lucky. He has a stable job, enough money to make ends meet, close friends, and the relentless good weather of Georgia. He should also have been dead for a good decade or more, because he was diagnosed with type 2 spinal muscular atrophy as a baby, a degenerative illness that kills many of its victims before they even hit puberty, while he’s still […]

Drug Store Showdown

The Time Has Come by Will Leitch

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It’s been a wild ride watching Will Leitch grow as a writer. I’ve been reading him since his early Deadspin days and followed the growth of his career. Like a lot of writers who had success young, he had a choice of whether or not to be trapped forever in the enjoyable-but-inevitably-forgettable writing mindset of stale beer and bong hits. Or he could grow and find new avenues. And found them, he did as he moved on to popular magazines, podcasting, a TV show (cut […]

“how lucky, not having to live with the ache of saying goodbye”

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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My boyfriend read How Lucky (2021) by Will Leitch and then recommended it to me. After reading the description and first couple of pages, I decided I was interested. And I’m glad I read it. Not only was the book from the perspective of a person living with some pretty severe disabilities, but there is also mystery, suspense, friendship, and plenty of jokes Daniel lives in Athens, Georgia, home to the University of Georgia. He has been living with SMA, a progressive disease similar to ALS that […]

“We don’t live in a series of plot points. We should be thankful for that. We should realize how lucky we are.” #CBRBINGO – Home

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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I was a bit nervous for this one! We’ve got a middle-aged white guy writing from the POV of a protagonist with a pretty specific disability (SMA, a degenerative disease*) that he doesn’t share, and I wasn’t familiar with Leitch as a writer, but this was the only BOTM the month it came out that interested me, so I took a chance, and I’m glad I did! I thought the whole thing was very sensitively done, and I thought Daniel ended up being a great […]

This is not the Deadspin writing I was expecting, and I am a million percent ok with that.

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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CBR13Bingo: Rep Daniel lives in Athens, Georgia. He has a job working in customer service for a regional airline, which lets him work at home and set his own hours. He likes his routine: visits with his best friend, football tailgates, and nice mornings out on his porch before work starts for the day. Early one morning, while out on his porch, Daniel sees something strange. He sees a young woman — he assumes she is a student — who doesn’t seem sure about where […]

Lucky Indeed

How Lucky by Will Leitch

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Will Leitch has long been one of my favorites, if not my favorite sports writer. I’ve followed his career since the early days of Deadspin and though I was sad when he left, I liked how both his career and the site itself blossomed as a result. He’s a fun, friendly, approachable guy who has the ability to cut through the bs in a polite but focused way. Leitch’s approachable nature is why he’s the first person I ever decided to stand in line for […]



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